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--:-- Host: Georgia Howe: A strong showing by Democrats in the midterm elections has emboldened President Biden, who now says he will seek re-election. But will Democrats support Biden, who would be the oldest presidential candidate ever to run? I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Thursday, December 1st, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Host: Georgia Howe: Plagued by violent crime and homelessness, New York City is now empowering police to be more aggressive in getting the mentally ill off the streets and into treatment facilities. Could the policy become a model for other crime-ridden cities? And as protests against China's deadly lockdown policies gain momentum, the Biden administration's response is coming under more scrutiny.
--:-- Host: Georgia Howe: I think he's self-aware that he can't go too far in criticizing some of these restrictions. Why are critics slamming the administration's handling of the situation? And is the White House changing its stance on China's COVID policy?
--:-- Host: Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- Host: Georgia Howe: After months of refusing to commit to a bid for re-election in 2024, President Biden now says he plans to run again following last month's midterm results. Here with more on how Democrat leaders are handling the prospect of another Biden term and the impact his age could have on the race is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So Cabot, it's typically a given that a sitting president will run for re-election, but Biden has waffled a bit on this subject in the past. What can you tell us?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, historically, you can count on one hand how many presidents have declined to run for a second term. So the fact that Biden had been hesitant to commit to running again is definitely noteworthy. As the president's first two years have unfolded, we've seen him give a range of answers on re-election. So when he first came to office, his approval rating was well above 50, and there was not much of a question if he would run again. It was sort of a given. But as his rating started to plummet after the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, that was really the turning point. And then they started to fall further into the mid-30s as inflation took hold. He started to become more noncommittal about a second run.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Right, but that has all changed in recent weeks. It has. In a very short amount of time, Biden went from saying that he had not made up his mind about 2024 to saying that he was intent on running and that he had been intent on running all along. For example, here he is two months ago when asked about re-election. Is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen. So a bit passive, but now compare that answer to this response from two weeks ago when he was asked the same question. Our intention is to run again. That been our intention regardless of what the outcome of this election was.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, how much of this shift can be attributed to his success in the midterms? Yeah, it's clearly a huge factor. So coming into the midterms, it did seem like Democrats were going to lose the House and Senate and that Biden himself would be a big reason for the poor performance. Remember, before the midterms, many Democrats were already starting to blame him for losing Congress. And a lot of people viewed that as Democrats setting the stage for pushing him off the 2024 ticket. There were even a number of elected officials waffling publicly about if he should run again. You don't typically see members of a party criticizing their president that publicly.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But the relative success of Democrats on Election Day has not only emboldened the president and his allies, but it's also left many party leaders saying, well, we've got to stick with him for now. For example, Senator Chris Coons from the president's home state of Delaware said after the midterm results, quote, it would be hard to not look at that and say, OK, there's still a role. There's still a path. There's still important things to do, referring to Biden's reelection.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Right. While many of his critics right now might be hesitant to say it publicly, there are certainly those who feel that way behind closed doors. And that extends to voters as well. CNN's midterm exit poll, for example, showed 67 percent of Americans saying they did not want Biden to run in 2024, while a separate New York Times poll over the summer found that nearly two-thirds of Democrats would prefer another candidate. And remember, Biden's approval rating is still hovering around 40 percent, so he would have his work cut out for him regardless of who ends up being the Republican nominee.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, how old will the president be, and how is his age going to factor into this? Last week, Biden turned 80 years old, making him the first octogenarian in presidential history. But even though that's a big milestone, most people probably did not hear much about his birthday. And that's intentional. That's because the White House reportedly did not want to draw attention to the president's age for obvious political purposes. Now, if he were to win reelection, Biden would be 86 years old by the time he left office, which would make him the oldest president ever by nearly a full decade. Reagan was 77 when he left office. And critics point to instances of him stumbling to find words during interviews and appearing to fall asleep during conferences with foreign leaders as evidence that he's suffering from cognitive decline and should bow out.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But that's a touchy subject politically for obvious reasons. So as 2024 approaches, watch how both sides address the issue of his age because it's not going to go away.
--:-- Host: Georgia Howe: All right. Well, Cabot, thanks so much for reporting. Anytime.
--:-- Host: Georgia Howe: That was Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips. Coming up, New York makes a major move in addressing mental illness on the streets. Black Rifle Coffee Company is helping you knock out your holiday shopping with a ton of awesome new products this year. Shop the best brewing gear, thermoses, mugs, and apparel designed for folks who love country and coffee. Go to blackriflecoffee.com and use promo code WIRE for 10% off coffee, merchandise, apparel, or when you sign up for a coffee club subscription. That's blackriflecoffee.com, promo code WIRE for 10% off.
--:-- Host: Georgia Howe: New York City Mayor Eric Adams is implementing a directive and working with the state legislature to revise laws that will make it easier for emergency responders to detain some mentally ill people living on the streets. The new measures come as the city has dealt with a spate of deadly violence committed by the mentally ill, including passengers being pushed in the subway and brutal aggressive assaults. Columnist David Marcus joins us now to talk about all this.
--:-- David Marcus: Morning. Prior to the directive, non-medical emergency responders, most importantly police, were limited in their ability to intervene on the basis of mental health and bring a person into the hospital unless they posed an overt threat to themselves or to others. Now that has expanded to include people who are unable to quote meet basic needs for health and safety, unquote. So this is a much broader test and should allow police a lot more flexibility in dealing with what, as you say, has become an increasingly big problem in the city and across the country.
--:-- David Marcus: What are some of the circumstances in which police could intervene in ways they haven't previously been able to do? Mayor Adams focused on the previous standard being an, quote, overt threat, end quote, to harm others or oneself as too vague, even calling it a myth that leads to many situations where police are powerless unless there's actual violence or a very direct threat of suicide.
--:-- David Marcus: Yeah. So, for example, somebody clearly in distress who's yelling at pedestrians or subway riders can now be detained ostensibly for their own good, but also, of course, to make the city safer. Importantly, once a person arrives at the hospital, it is medical professionals who determine if they should be committed, not law enforcement.
--:-- David Marcus: Now, though the mayor has significant support, including from Governor Kathy Hochul, there are some critics of this policy. What issues do they raise and what alternatives do they give? So the New York City Civil Liberties Union, among others, have come out against it basically because they argue it's essentially arresting someone for maybe committing a crime in the future. And in fairness, look, that is a slippery slope. But to the second part of your question, their plan B seems to be the status quo.
--:-- David Marcus: Right now, though, as we've seen in recent elections, these concerns about crime are so great that public sentiment seems to be behind the plan. Though I will say there may well be lawsuits once it's implemented.
--:-- David Marcus: Now, are there concerns that the city may not actually have enough facilities or beds to handle an influx of new patients? What about that issue? Yeah, there are. In fact, the city's public advocate has said that some such institutions have dropped by half in number in the city since 2019. But look, it's important to remember that not all of the people swept in by this will be admitted to the hospital or kept very long. In some measure, it's about diffusing the immediate situation that activates the interaction, even if that doesn't lead to a better long-term outcome.
--:-- David Marcus: Do you see this as something that could be a model for other cities dealing with the same problem? I'm thinking of places like San Francisco and Los Angeles. Quite possibly, especially if it's successful. To some degree, this is a mindset. Progressives in recent decades have moved to a position where they argue non-intervention is the best policy. That providing material support instead has the biggest impact. And it could also lead to wasted resources.
--:-- David Marcus: Absolutely.
--:-- Host: Georgia Howe: Thanks for joining us. Thanks for having me.
--:-- Host: Georgia Howe: That was Daily Wire contributor David Marcus.
--:-- Host: Georgia Howe: The Biden administration is taking heat for what critics say is a weak response to the growing Chinese protests against the communist regime's draconian lockdown measures. Here to discuss is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Presta-Giacomo.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Hey, Amanda. First, what has the administration's response been so far to these historic protests in China?
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: The response has been, I think it's fair to say, rather tepid and reluctant. The administration has sort of skirted the protests other than to say that they generally support everyone's right to peacefully protest. Instead, we received a response from an unnamed spokesperson from the National Security Council, lightly criticizing China's zero COVID policy. And they just basically called it ineffective rather than comment on the clear abuses associated with implementing such a policy.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: How has the political world responded to all this? We've seen a lot of people in the GOP especially strongly condemn the CCP, and they're using their platforms online to do this. A step further we do have some Republicans publicly calling out the Biden administration over its response. For example, leading House Republican Kevin McCarthy he slammed President Biden and the corporate class for quote shrugging as Chinese citizens bravely protest.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: And then we have Florida Senator Marco Rubio. He called the Biden response very weak. The senator went on to accuse the administration of being hamstrung to really criticize the CCP for their COVID policies since politicians in the Democratic Party wanted people arrested and fined and businesses closed during the pandemic. Rubio noted that he wasn't making a direct comparison here and that, quote, nothing compares to what the CCP are doing.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Now, to that point, many have noted that we actually did see early on in the pandemic many world leaders, including key figures in the U.S., praising China for their efforts to so-called stop the spread, correct?
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Yeah, that's right. I mean, we had the World Economic Forum. Notably, he preys on China for the regime's early response. And this is all archived on the forum's website even now. Keep in mind, early on, we did see those horrifying videos of authorities in China literally welding people inside their homes. And then we have Dr. Anthony Fauci. He helped lead the lockdown measures here in the U.S. He said in October 2020 that it was unfortunate the U.S. didn't model our early lockdown to be more like China.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: I recommended to the president that we shut the country down. And that was a very difficult decision because I knew it would have serious economic consequences, which it did. But there was no way to stop the explosive spread that we knew would occur if we didn't do that. Fast forward to April of this year, Fauci again said China was, quote, doing better than almost anyone else with its early COVID response. His argument seems to be in favor of these draconian lockdown measures as a short-term solution, which he said could effectively be leveraged to get people vaccinated and then open up again.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: This sort of pro-China support was certainly echoed in the mainstream press, too. As for the protests, what's happening now, and what about this growing support we're seeing from the Chinese demonstrators here in the U.S.? Well, despite Chinese authorities continuing to aggressively crack down on these protesters, the movement is growing. Demonstrations have spread to at least 16 cities now. And as you mentioned, John, protests have gained support here in America too, especially on college campuses. There have been demonstrations at Duke, North Carolina, University of California, Berkeley, and Columbia, to name a few.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: These do seem to be led by Chinese students. Here's some of that action at Columbia. Say no to dictatorship! Say no to dictatorship! Give me liberty or give me death!
--:-- Host: Georgia Howe: Well, Amanda, thank you so much for updating us and keeping an eye on this.
--:-- Host: Georgia Howe: Yeah, my pleasure.
--:-- Host: Georgia Howe: That was Daily Wire reporter Amanda Presta-Giacomo.
--:-- Host: Georgia Howe: Another story we're tracking this week. Christine McVie, the English musician whose smoky vocals and romantic lyrics helped catapult rock group Fleetwood Mac to international success, has died. She was 79 years old.
--:-- Host: Georgia Howe: Thanks for listening to Morning Wire. We created this show to bring more balance to the national conversation. If you love our show and you stand with our mission, consider subscribing, leaving us a five-star rating, and most importantly, sharing our podcast with a friend. That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.
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